Nobody You Know
by Paineful
Summary: Four of the senior members of The Organization develop a plan behind Xemnas' back to speed up Kingdom Hearts' construction. [XaldinxKairi fic, done for a friend's request.]
1. Beginning

Hey there! My name's Paineful, otherwise known as one of the most procrastinating aspiring writers you'll ever meet.

I haven't written anything on in months, but my friend just asked me to write him a XaldinxKairi, so I find myself inevitably returning from my uh...slump. ONLY BRIEFLY.

I understand how unusual this pairing is, which is why I advise you now; if you don't like the concept, please don't read it. As I said, I'm writing this for a friend, and as much as I appreciate constructive criticism (because I truly do), I don't want to be flamed just because I'm trying to do something for someone else. So if you don't want to read this, then don't. If you do, then do. But I already warned you, so please don't get mad at me. x.x

Note: Some of the characters may be a little OOC due to the fact that...well, I'm afraid my RP group may have influenced the way I look at them all. Darn. Well, hope it's decent, anyway.

And I understand I submitted something before this, but I actually wrote this first. I just wanted to start off with the other one because I wanted to work on this one a little more before I put it up.

Oh, and this was originally going to be a one-shot, but in the midst of writing it, I got carried away. I wrote all three chapters in a row (only three of them, since this was a quick request) and uploaded them at once out of...haste, I guess!

Anyway, that's all for the pre-fic ramble. Dedicated to Tai! Love ya, you crazy cook!

* * *

When you live in a place so monotonously white, the repetition of a single color can get on your nerves--or it can drive you crazy. Xaldin knew this very well; from time to time, he would walk down the dull, white hallways, staring down at the black fabric of the gloves covering his own palms, his eyes refusing to move off of his fingertips. White was stinging, and painful; black was cool and refreshing. 

He rounded the corner of the fifth floor, his eyes still fixed intensely on his gloves. Xaldin reached a hand up to brush the hair--equally as black--from his eyes. The decision was a fortunate one, considering that it saved him from colliding with one of his colleagues; a pallid man with long, blonde hair and slight weariness etched across his face.

Xaldin didn't recoil, nor did he flinch, at Vexen's sudden arrival, although his presence was vastly unexpected. It was common knowledge that the Organization's token scientist spent hours upon hours on end in the basement laboratory, conducting experiments--some with meaning, some without. Vexen wasn't one for socializing, and it was a blatant shock whenever Xaldin encountered him outside of the laboratory, let alone walking along the same hallway as himself.

Vexen cleared his throat. Xaldin raised an eyebrow at him.

"...What?" he demanded to know of his subordinate.

"How lucky I am to have found you so soon," Vexen remarked dryly, shifting a stack of books underneath one of his arms. "Do you think you could come with me for a quick...conversation of sorts? Two others and I request your presence."

Xaldin's eyes narrowed noticeably. He'd initially found it strange to have come across Vexen at all, but now knowing that the scholar purposely sought him out was even stranger still. He couldn't imagine what he would possibly want with him, and "two others"...

It was his own suspicions, or perhaps only curiosity, that compelled him to adhere. "Make it quick," he mumbled indignantly after a brief moment's worth of hesitation.

Gratefully, Vexen let out a tiny little snicker and motioned for Xaldin to follow him down the hall--the direction he would have gone in had he not been stopped by Vexen in the first place. "Now, this may be a bit out of the blue...but I assure you, it's a pressing subject matter."

"Yeah." Xaldin stalked down the hall alongside him, easily towering over his fellow Nobody. "Care telling me what this is about, anyway?"

Vexen came to an abrupt stop outside a door that jutted out from amidst the bare walls out of nowhere. His back was to Xaldin; he turned around, glancing at the Whirlwind Lancer over his shoulder, and Xaldin could have sworn he saw faint traces of mischief in the scientist's olive-colored eyes. "Oh, yes...you'll see in just a moment," he remarked, slipping a pair of non-prescription eyeglasses over his face as he pushed the door open.

Submitting to an eye-roll, Xaldin followed him in.

There were four chairs aligned around the small, otherwise empty room. Two were already occupied--the first of the two by a hulking brute of a man with a mess of thick, brown hair; the second of the two, a shifty-looking man--practically a boy--whose blue-gray hair fell completely over one side of his face. Xaldin stood still in the doorway to survey the both of them. "Should have known..."

Both Lexaeus and Zexion stood up to acknowledge Xaldin's presence among them. Simultaneously, Vexen plopped down in a seat, his legs crossed neatly and arms falling over the sides of the arm-rests.

Xaldin's eyes kept darting over all three of them, bemusement lengthening still; Lexaeus made a move to sit back down, whereas Zexion remained staring. "So he got you to come, after all," Zexion noted with a nod of approval. "I knew you would find our cause a worthy one. Good job, Vexen."

"Actually," Xaldin cut in before Vexen could extol over himself, "he didn't even tell me what the hell this is about. Wanna fill in the gaps? Otherwise, I'm leaving."

Zexion and Lexaeus immediately glanced over towards Vexen with their own individual expressions of disbelief. Quietly, Lexaeus raised his hand to his forehead in a soundless slap. Vexen leaned forward in his seat to peer back at the both of them. "Excuse me? You said bring him here," he pointed out with a scoff. "You didn't say _how_."

"Ten..." Xaldin began to count.

"Well, excuse me right back, Vexen, but I only assumed you were smart enough to employ logic..." Zexion retorted.

"NINE..." Xaldin counted, louder still; his patience wearing thin and impatience rising back to power.

Lexaeus cleared his throat, rising slowly to stand again. "Let us return to our affairs...?" he suggested, possibly the most level-headed of Nobodies present in the room. "Nothing will get done if we don't talk about it first."

Although somewhat hesitant, they all four sat down in their assorted chairs. Xaldin noticed that all three of the others had their hands folded in their laps. Something about the action concerned him.

Lexaeus looked over towards his other two partners in their mastermind plan; both were pointedly staring off in opposite directions, and both looked equally as annoyed with the other. He figured it was upon himself to address the matter at hand, or at least get things started. He cleared his throat once again. "Zexion, Vexen, and I were discussing Kingdom Hearts' development. Zexion made an astute discovery about how fast, or in this case, how slow it's moving."

Again, Xaldin was surprised; but this time, to hear that they were actually concerning themselves directly with Kingdom Hearts rather than merely accepting orders from the Superior. Perhaps they were more secretive than Xaldin ever realized... "You have." It was meant to be a question, but sounded more like a statement due to the dubious undertones in Xaldin's voice, meant to conceal his astonishment.

"Yes," both Vexen and Zexion said--which caused them to throw each other looks of disgust, as if to say "Me first." Noticing the tension in the air growing thicker still, Lexaeus nominated a speaker.

"Since Zexion figured it out, he should go first."

Vexen growled beneath his breath.

"And Vexen can contribute his hypothesis," Lexaeus added on with a nod.

The scholar was appeased. The tactician shifted in his seat, draping an arm over one of the arm-rests and letting his legs slide apart, almost lazily. "All this time, we've been relying totally and completely on the Keyblade master to acquire the hearts needed for its process. 'He's the one who slays the Heartless,' says Xemnas. 'He's the only one whose hands I want this matter residing within,' says Xemnas. Well." He sat up in his seat. "I've been monitoring the hearts that come in at a steady pace. All those corrupt hearts, drifting away from the Heartless from which they were conceived... At the rate we're going, relying on hearts that come from the Heartless, it's going to take quite a few. Quite a lot, I guess I should say."

Xaldin couldn't help but admit to being put off by this idea, even if his confession was made only to himself. Nobodies wanted nothing more than to have their hearts back; to be able to feel again...so that the cold, stinging sensation of emptiness left in the chasm where sentience once dwelled would go away--cease to burden their consciences. So that they could say they existed without the claim being a lie. When you want something as deeply as you want your heart--and if you're missing your heart, you want it more than you've ever wanted anything before--you want it to happen, and fast. "I guess those of us without patience are in for a long wait," Xaldin acknowledged bitterly.

"Yes," Vexen chimed in. It was as if he'd been waiting for the perfect moment to speak and was ready to burst like an over-inflated balloon if he didn't get to hear his voice. Xaldin sometimes wondered if Vexen liked hearing his voice so much that he kept himself away from others purposely so that he could talk to himself as much as he wanted. Who knew with him... "And I do believe I speak for the majority of those present in saying that our patience has long-since run out?" Lowering the fake glasses from his eyes, he peered around the room to get a good look at his colleagues' faces. Lexaeus shifted in his seat quietly. Zexion looked thoroughly dismayed, as if in assent; and Xaldin...everyone knew he had no patience to begin with, or if he did, it was scarce.

"Mm, I'll take your silence as agreement," Vexen informed them all. "In which case..." He moved his books so that they were on his lap rather than nestled under one of his arms. "After more careful observation of Kingdom Hearts on Zexion's part, thanks to a little bit of stealth and a lot of Lexaeus and myself distracting the Superior and his pet lackey from time to time--we came to a thorough conclusion. The stronger a heart, the more...fuel, you might say, it adds to Kingdom Hearts upon its addition to the bunch. Now, of course, a heart filled with darkness such as the hearts that have become Heartless isn't as strong as a heart that's filled with, oh I don't know, light..."

"But hearts withthat much light in them wouldn't become Heartless," said Xaldin, "leaving us with no way that the Keyblade master would slaughter them. There's no way they're becoming a part of Kingdom Hearts."

Vexen's eyes shone for a brief moment, in which excitement seemed to well up in him--or at least, a convincing emulation of excitement, as Nobodies lacked the emotional capacity to experience anything of the sort. "Yes, _yes_...naturally, a heart like that won't come from Sora's collection. It would have to be added to Kingdom Hearts from an outside source." When silence passed, he added on--annoyed--"I mean us!"

Xaldin was surprised at the talk he was hearing. Along with himself, the three Nobodies present with him had been in The Organization since its very beginning. They were all loyal to Xemnas and followed his standards without questioning, just as their Others were loyal to Xehanort in the same exact manner. "But the Superior said _specifically_ that he wants the hearts to come straight from the Keyblade."

Zexion nodded. "We know."

"..." And then there was silence; the mere idea of this act being a treasonous one instilled discomfort in them all.

"Oh, for the love of--" Vexen sighed and leaned forward matter-of-factly. "Now look here. Xemnas is clearly too stubborn to accept ideas that don't come straight from himself. That's why he would reject the idea if we approached him with it. I have nothing against the Superior; I don't believe any of us do. That's why I think we need to do this in private. It's nothing that will blow all our operations out of proportion; just a little speed boost for the recovery of our hearts..."

"I can't believe _any_ of you three think we can go around stealing hearts and throwing them into Kingdom Hearts." Xaldin had to cut in. He was still astonished. Something as ridiculous as the idea of the four of them masquerading as heart thieves didn't bode well with him.

"Oh, no...not really." Zexion toyed with the zipper on his coat, flipping the metal piece up and down; up and down. "A heart is something sacred. Beings of filth, like ourselves, have no right to subject ourselves to that sacredness again and again. We know well enough not to overstep our boundaries."

"Then what are you getting at?" Xaldin insisted on knowing.

Finally, Vexen could no longer contain himself. "A SACRIFICE, you fool!" He breathed out deeply as one of several books fell from his lap. "Think of it this way, if you please. We sacrifice to the domain of Kingdom Hearts, a heart so filled with purity, so strong in its alignment towards the light...that it will boost the completion of Kingdom Hearts immensely. It may not complete it altogether, but I truly believe a heart like that would significantly speed up the rate at which we regain _our_ hearts."

Xaldin let the entire idea process. "A sacrifice... And when the Superior hears of this? What do you think he'll do, congratulate us?" When he realized he said "us" instead of "you," and took note of the fact that he was unconsciously already including himself in on their tactics, it almost horrified him.

"We know we can't get anything past him," said Zexion. "It's not like that big of an addition can go unnoticed. Not by him... So yes, he _will_ realize something's different, and he _will_ be angry when he finds out that someone went behind his back. But even Xemnas won't undo something like that when he realizes how potent its effects are. He'll put on a charade of indignity, but he won't dare to take away that great of an influence from his precious Kingdom Hearts. So all we have to worry about...is making sure that his anger is directed towards the wrong person, or people, as it may be."

The more they spoke of this plan, the more deeply Xaldin reflected on it. "In other words...don't get caught, and everything goes our way."

"Yes, pretty much," Vexen confirmed airily. "We'll have to make him think someone else tampered with Kingdom Hearts, since I believe he's definitely going to want to kill off whoever did it. All we have to do is blame it on a neophyte--"

"And you think he'll fall for that?" Xaldin asked, trying to find all the plan's flaws in order to come up with ways to negate them.

Vexen narrowed his eyes. "Don't interrupt me, please. Thank you. ANYWAY--"

"Yes, we do," Lexaeus--who had been silent for some time now--spoke up. "An accusation like that can't come out of nowhere. That is why we have to first make sure not a soul can prove we did it, and then make sure there's evidence pointing to someone else possibly having the idea. Such as unusual behavior..." He propped an elbow up on an arm-rest, letting his head rest atop his hand. "I do not like the idea of harming our kin." Lexaeus was somewhat more noble than the others; though he was The Organization's powerhouse, he was ultimately a pacifist of a man, and one who didn't invoke unnecessary bloodshed. He had no concern, nor affection, for his fellow Nobodies, but he believed in doing what was "right" when it involved the extent of them.

"But what must be done...must be done. Sacrifice one or two for the benefit of many others. I fear at the rate we're going right now, Kingdom Hearts can't be complete without this addition."

His last statement hit Xaldin--hard. He drew in breath silently. "Then let's do it." Then it dawned on him that no one mentioned whose heart they would be sacrificing for the cause. "Where do you expect we'll find a heart that powerful?"

"It's the heart of someone we knew once, actually..." Zexion laced his gloved fingers together, his gaze drifting off. "Or rather, people we came from once knew her. Even if only vaguely."

Xaldin thought he saw where Zexion was going with this. "I see."

Zexion nodded anyway. "The Last Princess of Heart. That's where we'd like for you to come in. You, among the four of us, are the best at acquiring something and keeping it in your possession. So we're trusting you with the task of capturing the Princess."

Xaldin, if he were drinking something, would have spit it out in protest. "Say that again," he demanded after his eyes shot wide and subsequently narrowed, "because unless I'm mistaken, I was only let in on this plan a few minutes ago, and now I'm doing the dirty work?"

"We all have a part to play in this," said Zexion. "Lexaeus will guard the place in which the hostage is kept until the time comes for us to use her. No one ever suspects a thing from him, so no one will want to go checking around to see what he's up to. Vexen is going to devise a means with which to extract the heart from her frail body--else we'll just throw her into Kingdom Hearts in her entirety, see how that goes--and I, myself, will be the one to distract Saix from his post. It's only fair that we all play a part in this, and your part will be the one to kick all following events into gear."

Xaldin couldn't argue with logic like that. "Got it... So where do I go to retrieve her, and how do you explain my absence from the castle?"

"We'll just have to claim you're scoping out worlds," Vexen input thoughtfully. "It's not too out of the ordinary, and you'll be back so quickly that no one will think otherwise. And believe you me, we _do_ intend for this to be a quick procedure...or at least, the capture part. The rest, as VI said, will all follow. As for the place where we expect you to _find_ our little girl...that would be the Destiny Islands."

Xaldin stood up. Zexion raised an eyebrow at him. "And you're going...where?"

"I'm starting the mission." His eyes, deep as they were, burned with a mixture of determination and annoyance; both accelerated by aggression. "You _do_ have everything planned out so we can just start now, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course!" Vexen hastily assured him. Crossing one leg over the other, and looking--for all the world--like a pompous monarch on a makeshift thrown, Vexen waved Xaldin dismissively out of the room.

X X X

It was already nighttime on the islands. Kairi barely noticed; just as she didn't notice the cold air wrapping around her bare arms. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon, darkening as it was; her mind, filled with thoughts too deep for the rest of her to keep up with--thoughts that kept her confined to where she stood out of complexity.

Every day, she came back to this same spot on the childhood island, eagerly awaiting the return of her two best friends. Her hopes were high with the beginning of the day, and by the end, even though they still hadn't returned, her hopes never deflated. She would remain loyal to the both of them; confident in their will to come back to everything they held sacred in one another.

Kairi never doubted for a second that Sora and Riku were coming back.

But right now, her thoughts had drifted away from the two she held dearer to her than anything. This stray from her usual thought pattern was a rarity, but one that tended to happen every once in a long time. Its approach was inescapable. When you lie to yourself so long about something so undeniably true--so much so that it's a deep part of yourself and aided in creating the person you now are--the lie eventually bites at the back of your mind, practically begging for you to pay attention to it; to acknowledge its existence. Such was the case now, as Kairi reflected on her childhood prior to arriving on the islands and meeting Riku and Sora.

Kairi's arrival on the islands--she couldn't even remember how long ago it was, although it felt as if it were only yesterday--marked excitement and wonder in both of the boys who would go on to become her best friends. The idea of someone coming from another world, far from and unlike their own... It was material enough to feed most children's fantasies. But time and time again, when either of them would ask her what her home was like, or how she got to the islands in the first place...Kairi lied.

"_I'm sorry. I really don't remember--anything at all._"

So trusting and so innocent were both of her friends that they believed her. They didn't doubt her for a second; for, the three of them had established an instant bond, stronger than any connection Kairi had ever thought to be possible before. And it was because of that trust--that deep, intense connection their hearts shared--that Kairi felt so guilty for lying. Even in the very start of their friendship, when she was only beginning to know the both of them.

That guilt eventually built up when her heart became separated from her body and fled to Sora's own heart. She tried to show him flashbacks of her childhood--visions, no matter how insignificant, that proved she knew, all along, who she was and where she came from, and even what was going on in Sora's struggle against Ansem. It was hard to share details of such things when she had no voice of her own with which to do it at the time, but she'd tried her hardest...and she truly believed it got through in the end. She didn't know for sure, since her reunion with Sora was short-lived and her reunion with Riku, as sad as it made her, was virtually nonexistent...but she had clung to the hope that her friends somehow both now knew the truth and forgave her for lying all along.

It wasn't as if the details she'd been hiding were so mind-shatteringly important that keeping them a secret was a mortal sin against humanity; in fact, she thought that what she'd hidden from Riku and Sora was largely unimportant, the only reason for hiding it having been to escape her own sorrow towards what had once been. But Kairi loved Riku and Sora so deeply that she felt they were her all and everything, and that hiding even one detail of something that was significant to _her_ was the same thing as denying the love she had for them at all. And so, her determination to give them insight on her past, or at least make it up to them that she'd smothered it, had risen to enormity and overcome her.

But now was one of those moments when she wasn't certain if either of them got the extent of her message. She didn't know for sure that either one of them could hear her say "_I lied. I lied, and I'm so sorry_." And since she was still waiting to see the both of them again--a wait that felt so long and painful to her, despite her strenuous optimism that it would one day come to an end--the thought that a lie still dwelled there in the space between her and her friends pained her immensely. So every now and then, when she found herself unable to escape thinking about it...it welled up and swallowed her whole.

That was why she wouldn't budge. Not even when a rift tore through the air behind her, and out stepped Xaldin.

On the other hand, Kairi didn't even know he was there. Whoever he was, he came very quietly, or just quietly enough that a person lost in a trance-like state of rewinding guilt couldn't detect his arrival. The only thing that made his presence apparent to Kairi was when a spray of tiny raindrops hit her elbow, causing her to shiver and realize it was close to raining--and she still wasn't home. The realization caused her to tilt her head up and stare around, almost in a post-reverie state of shock, and when she noticed a warrior with braids of long hair and a quiet, fearsome kind of silence to his face, her eyes widened and she stumbled backwards, tripping over herself.

Kairi felt that the kind of reaction she had to his arrival, no matter how unexpected and terrifying it was, was unkind. She pushed her hands into the sand to stand back up, promptly brushing herself off and forcing a default smile onto her face. "I'm sorry," she apologized kindly, a nervous laugh following. "I didn't know anyone was there--"

But that, in itself, was suspicious. Nobody really came to this island except the children who used to play on it; an adult hadn't set foot on its sands in what Kairi believed to be years. Not to mention this kind of adult, who looked particularly suspicious in his long, black coat and aggressive exterior.

Once she found herself realizing she was thinking negatively of this stranger, Kairi scolded herself for--again--being unkind and felt instant guilt that she'd assumed the worst without any real basis to her assumption.

That was when he grabbed her roughly by the forearm and jerked her forward.

On instinct, Kairi yelped, her eyes widening and panic coursing through her being. "Please let go!" She fiercely tried, with all her strength, to withdraw her arm from his grip, only to find out that the man was incredibly strong. Kairi should have known...

"I'm afraid not," the man retorted, opening a new portal in the air before them. "I need you for something. Come on."

The portal's appearance bewildered her. If she hadn't known to begin with, she knew now that this was no ordinary occurrence. Holding a hand to her mouth, or whichever one was free, she turned towards the terrifying stranger in vain, only to find that she was met with an air of shocking familiarity; or half-familiarity, as it were... She couldn't quite place it, but it felt like she'd seen this man before, in the distant past--but then, it felt like she'd seen only half of him, or better yet...this was only half of the man she'd seen. The momentary lapse into familiarity froze her to the spot, which--in turn--froze the man as well, for he was too busy observing her confused attempts to recall why she suddenly seemed to know a part of him.

Carefully, she began again to speak. "Who...are you?" she asked timidly, as if afraid of the answer to follow, but curious nonetheless.

Her deliberate interrogation, modest and wondrous, made his ordinarily intimidating expression freeze momentarily in place as he surveyed her. She seemed to bend under the strain of his studious gaze, although she tried her hardest to return it.

Kairi's arm finally relaxed in Xaldin's hand, which served as a jolt back to reality. Purposely, he tightened his grip around her thin arm, causing her to wince without sound at the sudden pain. An inhuman smirk lit his face as he dragged her forcefully through the open portal.

"Nobody you know."

* * *

Yay. I know it's dumb, but I can't pass up the opportunity to write a request fic for a friend. Anyway; if you've made it this far, thanks for reading, and sorry for wasting your time! Oh, and any constructive criticism--like if you see something that you think could be worked on, or whatever--is always appreciated. Although the rest of it's already been written, I still am grateful for any help I can get with my writing, such as suggestions for fixing mistakes, or anything like that. 

Note to Tai: I sincerely hope I haven't killed you with boredom. x.x

Take care!


	2. Middle

Yay, chapter two ofthe XaldinxKairi request fic. After this, just one more to go.

Heheh. I'm particularly happy that I got to use Vexen a little in this thing. He's my favorite Kingdom Heartscharacter of all time (did I mention I liked CoM best, for some reason?), so I guess I gave him more of a part than I should have, but that's to be expected. Gotta love the man! (Or I do, anyway.)

Ramble #2 is now complete.

* * *

"Yes...that's definitely the one." 

Xaldin didn't particularly like Vexen's laboratory. It was dark; that much, he was grateful for. But it was incredibly cold. The temperature had to be at _least_ sub-zero, and Xaldin was certain there were icicles hanging precariously from the ceiling like stalactites--and snow gathering in the corners of the room.

Vexen stood analyzing Kairi, his eyes dark with concentration as he glanced down at his notes to scrawl something of importance every now and then. As expected, he was perfectly accustomed to the frigid temperature of his natural climate; he was the only person in the room whose breath didn't come out as mist. Xaldin wondered if ice coursed through the man's veins in replacement of the blood his heart would have produced. That had to be painful.

Kairi was at a complete loss; one moment, she was on the islands, confronting a stranger reminiscent of a forgotten person she once knew...the next, she was standing in the middle of a freezing room. Both men whose presence she was in looked too foreboding for comfort.

"Yeah, I know." Xaldin didn't need to be told what she looked like. He wasn't stupid... "So now what? Are you ready for the procedure, or are we going to wait?"

Procedure? To Kairi, that didn't sound good...

"Naturally, we're going to need some time." Vexen let his notes drop to the icy tabletop, neatly placing his pen atop the stack of papers. "It's dire that you make sure no one outside of the four of us knows she's in the castle, so I suggest taking her to Lexaeus immediately. As for my role in the plan, I want to work on this a bit more. ...In privacy."

Xaldin took the hint. He nodded, once again tightly gripping Kairi's arm. By now, she didn't mind; she was so cold that it was relieving to have the fabric from someone else's glove on her skin, although the man himself exuded no warmth.

"W-wait..." Kairi spoke up nervously, her eyes raising onto Vexen's. She flinched as they made eye contact. "I don't understand! Who are you, and what do you need me for?"

Vexen blinked, smiling coldly. No verbal response was offered. Kairi took it as a sign to continue speaking.

"I wouldn't mind helping you...but don't you think it would be more fair if you let me know _how_ I can help?" Kairi was a thoughtful person; considerate towards others, and eager to help when she could, unbiased towards whoever it was who needed help in the first place. But at present, she was so blatantly confused... Luckily, her confusion distracted her from her fear.

The two Nobodies exchanged unrecognizable looks--possibly ones of disbelief--before the scientist snickered. Even her original captor seemed to smile with cruelty. Kairi didn't understand...

"You really wish to know, do you?" Vexen asked, a taunting tone to his voice. He ran a hand through his hair casually. "Very well. We plan to sacrifice you to our Kingdom Hearts. As in, you gonna die."

Kairi's eyes widened with both shock and terror. A dreadful sensation rose up from her heart to her throat, rather like fire deep within her body. Her lips formed words--or tried to--but they never came out.

Vexen waved them off, covering his eyes with his non-prescription spectacles yet again. "Bring her to Lexaeus now. I have work to do. And _employ stealth_," Vexen advised with emphasis.

It annoyed Xaldin that Vexen thought he needed to be told how to bring the hostage to Lexaeus. He wasn't a fool... He scowled at the scientist with disgust and drew Kairi in close to his body. A portal of shadows promptly spread out across the floor; clutching Kairi, Xaldin sank down into its dark depths, delving into the shadows.

Although the transition from one area to another occurred in a matter of seconds, Xaldin's thought process seemed to slow down in the time that lapsed; long enough for him to realize that the girl was shaking, but trying very hard not to. Against her will, she almost pressed herself tighter to her captor, as if afraid the shadows would tear her apart if she were to break the hold he had on her. The way she clung to him, this man who was only half of a stranger, made something stir within his senses; like a dusty light-switch that had been in the "off" position for years was suddenly flipped to "on." The light that issued forth was unsettlingly...blinding.

And then it was over.

The two emerged from the portal, rising up from the shiny, marble floor. Xaldin again drew Kairi tighter to himself, bending over as if the shadows his considerably taller body cast over her own would keep her concealed from any passers-by. His head twisted around as he inspected his surroundings. No one unexpected was in sight.

'_Good._' He unwound his arms from her body and jerked roughly on Kairi's wrist, tugging her forward. Their walk was but a short one; moments later, they both stood before Lexaeus, whose back was to a door.

The Peaceful Giant peered down at Kairi serenely, but with a sense of detachment, before he nodded. "That is good," he noted, moving out of the way and opening the door for Xaldin to stow Kairi inside.

That was when it clicked within her mind. All of these people...or the three she just met...they maintained the same sense of familiarity, despite her never meeting them before. It left her puzzled. Kairi was determined to find out why she felt this way about them, but Lexaeus' words were the confirmation for her. "_That is good._" She remembered a certain laboratory assistant, long ago, who repeated this phrase habitually...

Kairi's eyes widened. Again, she went to speak--to ask them if they were really who she thought they were--when suddenly, both Nobodies' heads shot up with alarm. Xaldin growled and shoved her inside the room, quickly following her inside; he slammed the door behind them and leaned against it, his eyebrows drawn together thoughtfully.

"What's going on...?" Kairi asked, although she knew her question was in vain.

Instantaneously, Xaldin shoved his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, panic flashing in his eyes. Kairi shut her own. His grip was still too tight; it felt like he was trying to break her face off.

With his hand still covering her mouth, Xaldin leaned up against the door, breathing silently and listening intently.

"Dude!" someone's voice sounded outside the door as footsteps came to a halt. Kairi heard it, too. "Lexaeus, my man, you're lookin' pretty buff! How's about you help me with my target practice, huh? Damn signs won't hold themselves up no more..."

Xaldin cocked an eyebrow dubiously; Kairi's facial expression, unintentionally, mirrored his. They exchanged a look of incredulity, almost as if they were on casual, friendly terms--and when Xaldin realized this, he narrowed his eyes at her and stared pointedly away to continue eavesdropping.

He heard the sound of shifting in place; that had to be Lexaeus. "Xigbar. I--"

"Yeah, c'mon man! We got some free time before our next missions, don'cha think?" There was more shifting, then the sound of heavy footfalls against the floor--then, silence.

Slowly, Xaldin removed his hand from Kairi's mouth and rose to stand. Equally slowly, he opened the door, just enough to peek outside into the hallway. They were both gone.

Xaldin raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck, then turned around to gaze fiercely at Kairi again. Her eyes were on her hands; her hands, in her lap. She looked so sad... It was like her entire heart was wrapped in despair, rivaled only by apprehension. Unless Xaldin was imagining it, she even looked, somehow...betrayed.

Xaldin shook his head and turned away, opening the door and shutting it behind him as he walked back out into the hallway. He realized that Lexaeus' unfortunate distraction meant he would have to act in his place and guard the door until the earth adept returned to his station. There was no way he would risk the brat breaking free and running away. Not when her heart meant he could regain his own.

Much to his dismay, Xaldin could hear yet another Nobody stalking down the hall. This was unusual, considering this was one of the few floors no one paid any real attention to. It made him wonder if they somehow knew what the four senior members were up to--and that troubled him. He at least hoped that whoever was approaching was someone empty-headed, like Demyx, who was incapable of suspecting anything out of the ordinary.

No such luck. Before the Nobody in question was quite within his vicinity, Xaldin caught a glimpse of pale, blue hair, long and untidy. The same blue hair that belonged to Saix.

If anything, the fact that Saix was coming only added to his troubles. Saix was clever; he was no fool. For him to linger about in a hallway otherwise unvisited by him was clearly a bad sign... And it was even more of an ill omen if Saix caught Xaldin in that very same hallway. Xaldin's participation in the plan would undoubtedly lie open for all of The Organization to see. Which was why Xaldin hurriedly--but soundlessly--forced the door open, yet again, and tossed himself inside the nearly empty room, wrenching the door shut behind him and leaning back against it with all his weight.

Kairi's eyes raised onto Xaldin's. He shook his head and motioned for her to be quiet, nodding back towards the door behind him. Her head tilted, but she complied.

Xaldin shut his eyes. He could hear Saix coming ever closer. If he opened the door, it was all over... He would inform Xemnas of Kairi's presence, and even _if_ the grand plot wasn't revealed, they would no longer be able to make advancements on it...

Saix came to a halt. Xaldin could have sworn he was about to enter the room both he and Kairi currently occupied... But then the demon man seemed to change his mind--or maybe he was never going to in the first place. He continued on his way, the sounds of his shoes against the floor additionally fading away.

Xaldin almost felt compelled to sigh with relief. He was stunned when Kairi beat him to it, especially considering that her predicament was still as bad as it started out.

"...What are you...?" Xaldin couldn't even finish his question.

Kairi looked embarrassed. Her eyes rounded, and she held her hands to her mouth before gradually lowering them. "I'm...not sure," she confessed. "It felt appropriate..."

Xaldin kept his gaze fixed on her intently. Her very demeanor left him at a loss for certainty. It was positively confusing to him, how someone could remain civil and polite towards one who admitted they were going to deliver her death to her. She was, without a doubt, terrified--he sensed it upon her as if it were a scent. But she still gave off a steady warmth; an air of unerring kindness. Particularly conflicting was that, in the silence and emptiness of the bare room they both sat within, the warmth from her heart--a heart with no darkness--collided with his lack of one. Her light invaded his soul, reminding him of what it was like to feel for himself.

For the first time since his inception as a Nobody, Xaldin felt...relaxed.

"You're strange," he mumbled, his eyes closing over as he leaned his head back against the door. His eyelids shielded him from the confusion her unwavering kindness presented.

Kairi mistakenly believed he was referring to her last statement; ashamed, she looked down at her lap again. "I'm sorry," she whispered in a quiet voice.

The kindness was confusing him again. Kindness like that didn't exist within The Organization, and The Organization was where he dwelled, day after day, for the past five years he'd been alive as a Nobody. The fact that he was reacting to her kindness, even if inwardly, worried him. His eyes snapped open with fury. "Shut up!" he snarled. He couldn't stand it.

Evidently, his outburst hadn't been perceived by Kairi; more than that, it scared her. The way she pressed herself against the wall made her look like she was trying to drown herself in it. This pleased Xaldin; it meant less of her sincerity and more of her fear. Fear was something a Nobody could deal with. Kindness was not.

Xaldin decided it was the proper time for him to depart. He rose again, his hand reaching for the doorknob. Before he could do so, he froze.

Kairi was crying.

"..." All he could do was watch her, observing her silent tears. He almost felt ashamed... Almost. After all, he couldn't feel, or so he believed. Against his will, he turned his attention towards her. "Now what?"

Resting her head on her knees, Kairi wrapped her arms around her legs. The tears fell from her eyes to her skin. "Why do you want to sacrifice me? Is there a reason?"

Kairi, after all, was ill-informed of her situation. Nobody bothered to explain in depth why they were going to tear the heart right out of her chest; they only assumed she wasn't worth the time of day, since in a _matter_ of days (if even that long), she would no longer be among them. Xaldin, on the other hand, saw no reason to keep information from her, since it wasn't like she could stop it.

Xaldin folded his arms behind his back, purposely turning his head from her. "Vexen told you your heart's going to become a permanent addition to Kingdom Hearts. What he didn't say is that...we have our own Kingdom Hearts. A makeshift one that we ourselves constructed. Here's how it works...the more hearts added to the collection, the stronger it becomes. The stronger it becomes, the closer it gets to being completed."

He paused, deliberating his words as his eyes fell with concentration to the floor. "We need it to become complete. And your heart...is one with no darkness. Making it the perfect candidate for completing Kingdom Hearts once we've thrown it in."

Kairi's movement, and tears, both came to an abrupt stop, replaced only with astonishment. Making their own Kingdom Hearts? "I didn't know that was possible..."

"It is. For us, I guess."

There was another pause on Kairi's part as she raised her head. "Why do you want your own Kingdom Hearts?" she asked. "Are you trying to replace the real one?"

"Not quite." He felt courageous enough to face her. It wasn't so hard as he'd anticipated, because now she looked less mortified and more thoughtful. "We are beings of nothingness. No hearts; Nobody. We believe that creating and completing our own Kingdom Hearts will enable us to become real again. The original Kingdom Hearts already rejects us...so we need to make our own."

Kairi knew something was strange about them, aside from their rough dispositions, but she never thought... Hesitantly, she stood up, bringing her hands to her chest and allowing her eyes to close. She could feel her own heart...but she couldn't feel his.

It wasn't there.

Her eyes opened again, but they were full of remorse--sympathy for him. "I didn't know..." It was terrible, to think that anyone had to exist without a heart. It literally made her feel sorrow on their behalf. If only she could say so; her captor seemed to grow angry every time she tried to say "I'm sorry."

Xaldin didn't know how to reply to that. He had to make up his own response, and even when he did, it wasn't satisfactory in his eyes. "...Now you do."

Kairi nodded enthusiastically, allowing a tiny smile to grace her features. "Okay."

This took Xaldin by surprise, as he didn't know what she was agreeing to. "Okay? Okay _what_?"

"I want to help; however I can."

Xaldin turned so suddenly to look at her that his braids flew around his head and smacked him in the face. Still, he didn't notice. If he'd felt any disbelief towards her in the first place, by now it was double its initial size. This, to him, was no ordinary way to react to the idea of a group of savages destroying your heart for the sake of them finding their own. How in the universe could she push aside her well-being for strangers? Strangers who didn't care what happened to her, at that?

"I think you're crazy." Xaldin raised himself from the door to begin pacing back and forth in the bare room. "No. I'm pretty sure of it. That's not...I mean..." He stopped in the middle of the floor and turned around to face her, his expression pained with confusion. "How could you?"

Her smile deepened; her eyes shone with equal kindness. "It's not right for people to go so long, suffering over the loss of something that defines them...but without being able to actually suffer." She laughed a little, as if softly reprimanding herself. "Either way, I wouldn't want you to suffer. So...if that's the way your misery can end...then I'm all for it!"

Xaldin's eyes were wide. His hands, of their own accord, kept tightening within their gloves, only to reopen. He stood directly in front of her now, towering over her; staring, almost with fear, into her mirthful eyes. Her heart was definitely unusual. Not only was its consideration for all others unlimited, but it was so strong that it affected him, too. It was like Kairi's heart, while he was in her presence, was able to lend him light; and that borrowed light, stored within his soul, managed to act like half of a heart--half of the heart's emotions. And when you've missed your heart for so long...having even half of one was refreshing...overjoyous.

Was she truly sharing her heart with him, in that respect? Was she even trying to? Did she even realize it?

Xaldin's head lowered. A proud warrior was reduced to what he truly was...lost, desperate, and more than that, stunned by the girl before him. He fell with a thud to his knees, causing Kairi nearly to jump in her place. His arms wrapped loosely around her waist... He pressed his head against her chest.

Kairi, again, was terrified; her heart was given a jump-start by the sudden display of vulnerability from the self-proclaimed Nobody. "W-what are you..."

"Shut up..." His eyes sealed, to block out the shame he felt towards himself. If the shame was gone, he could just...be.

"Let me hear...the beating of your heart. I've forgotten what it sounds like." It was so long ago...

Kairi was, at first, taken aback...and then her heart softened towards him.

She smiled, placing her hands on his shoulders comfortingly. Even a Nobody--what a horrible name that was--deserved that much.

* * *

Okay, done with chapter two! As always, constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading! 


	3. End

Okay. Third and final chapter to the fic.

* * *

Several hours had passed, and Lexaeus still never returned. Xaldin didn't leave the room, either; although he expressed a desire to do so more than once, and Kairi didn't deny him the right to leave, he eventually found some reason or other to remain with her, such as pointing out that someone might discover her whereabouts if he were to leave her alone. 

Kairi initially didn't understand why it was a problem if someone found out where she was--until Xaldin explained that only four of them were in on the plan to sacrifice her heart to Kingdom Hearts. While he knew he probably shouldn't have been sharing _that_ much information with her...he knew she wouldn't use it against him and take it as a chance to escape. She was more than willing to give away her existence to benefit in the reconstruction of others', and as unusual as that was, Xaldin was grateful for it. It left them with no complications.

Eventually, Kairi drifted off to sleep. The events of the evening understandably drained her of stamina. Her sleep was a quiet, peaceful one. Xaldin didn't understand how someone could _look_ so peaceful; someone, nonetheless, who knew the terrible fate to become of them. Xaldin stifled a sigh, ignoring a foreign, once-familiar sensation very similar to guilt welling up within him.

When the door finally swung open, Xaldin panicked, fearing that the details of their idea for Kingdom Hearts had been revealed. To his relief, the man standing in the doorway turned out to be none other than Lexaeus.

"What took you?" Xaldin demanded to know, his back still against the wall.

"Forgive me. Number II requested a training session. I could not pass up the offer without coming off as suspicious." Lexaeus' eyes swept throughout the room, finally landing on Kairi--still fast asleep, with her head on Xaldin's shoulder. An eyebrow raised inquisitively as he looked to Xaldin for an explanation.

Xaldin didn't seem to want to give one. Indignant, he pushed her off--but carefully enough so as not to wake her, nor harm her. Lexaeus noticed the deliberate care in her removal and, once again, silently demanded to know the cause for Xaldin's odd, uncharacteristic--thus far--behavior.

"She fell asleep." The third-ranked Nobody rose to stand, approaching Lexaeus by the door. "So what? You're taking over from here? Watching her, I mean."

Lexaeus nodded. "I don't suppose there is anything to really watch, but that is my part in the operation. You should return to the lower levels of the castle. A few of the others, especially Number X, have been questioning your absence in their affairs."

Which was the reason why Lexaeus was chosen to guard Kairi in the first place--less conspicuous. Xaldin truly hoped their plans weren't sabotaged due to the slight change in schedule. "I'll get out of here, then," he mumbled somewhat gruffly.

Lexaeus moved into the room, giving Xaldin room to exit. He paused in the doorway and turned to look over his shoulder at what he assumed to be the still-sleeping Kairi, only to find that she had quietly awakened. Her arms were around her legs for warmth; her eyes, following him.

It felt like a dreadful confirmation to leave her...like it would be the last time he ever saw the person who, just by being near him, gave him back half of his heart--even if only temporarily. It felt like he was walking away from his own humanity, or something he held even more dear than it.

Kairi didn't know what was wrong, but it was as if she knew something was. She gave him a light, reassuring smile. Somehow, that only hurt even more. Shutting his eyes briefly, Xaldin whirled around and walked away from the room in which she was held, with Lexaeus closing the door after him.

The minute the door was closed, the hurt was gone. So was the guilt, the shock, the enchantment...everything he'd experienced in her presence. It was just as he knew. Somehow, being near her made him able to feel...and walking away from her took that ability away.

The only thing Xaldin could feel now was jealousy, and that was at the idea of Kairi possibly--unconsciously--sharing her heart's warmth with Lexaeus the way she did with him. Xaldin didn't like the thought of that happening. But somehow...after he thought hard on it...he was confident that it wouldn't happen. That whatever happened was something that could only occur between the two of them--whatever it was. Her smile as he parted left him with the belief.

But now, Xaldin was cold again. Empty.

And just as he had done every other day, he stalked off down the hall, his eyes on his gloves to avoid the blinding white color of the walls around him. This time, it was like the dull, stinging white could speak to him; it was telling him of everything he'd done wrong. He found it necessary more than ever to keep his eyes on the black fabric of the gloves covering his rough hands.

His paranoid conscience left him prey to the imaginary belief that they were stained with blood.

Xaldin shook his head and sank down into the newly-existent shadows, re-emerging outside the castle.

It was still dark outside, and the silence accompanying the dim light of the stars was mildly soothing. Or it should have been. To Xaldin, it was only an added insult to his solitude. He shook his hair out, preparing to summon forth his spears for training, when unexpected music met his ears.

Peering through the darkness, Xaldin was met with the image of a blonde-haired Nobody sitting atop a ledge, his gloved hands awkwardly plucking at the strings of a blue sitar. Xaldin had never before encountered Demyx outside of the castle walls, and doing so for the first time was jarring to the senses.

Xaldin stepped forward. "Hey."

The soft music continued as Demyx nodded his head in time to the tune, his eyes sealed shut and consciousness whisked away.

Being ignored irked Xaldin. He raised his voice. "I SAID HEY."

The sitar dropped to the ground. Demyx shrieked and fell over the ledge backwards. This gave Xaldin some sense of satisfaction.

"Oh, hey!" Demyx's hands gripped onto the ledge as he hoisted himself back up and swung himself over the side, grinning brightly. "Haha, good one, Xaldin!"

"Yeah, whatever." Now Xaldin remembered why he never approached Demyx of his own will. There was something positively...quirky, about the kid.

Demyx leaned over the side of the ledge with his hands on his knees, a grin still on his face. "Well, what's up? Hey, forget that; wanna hear this song I was working on? It's called 'I Got a Heart,' and the--"

"No," Xaldin interrupted. Then-- "Wait...what's it called?"

"'I Got a Heart'! I wrote it 'bout us! I mean, all of us. So you wanna hear it?"

"To be truthful...no." Xaldin looked puzzled. "If the song's about us, why would you name it that? We don't have hearts."

Demyx pursed his lips together, as if contemplating the meaning of Xaldin's words, then leaned down to pick up his sitar. Thankfully, Demyx merely rested the instrument across his lap. "You know, Xaldin...you guys saying that all the time sure does confuse me. What makes you think we don't have hearts?"

"How about the fact that we were there when they were stolen from us?" Xaldin glanced over at the ledge Demyx sat on, wondering whether he should sit down; after all, this was bound to take a while... He decided against it and remained standing.

"Well...yeah. Okay, our hearts were stolen." Demyx looked like he was thinking so hard on the subject that his brain would collapse from the effort necessary to form the thoughts. "But what makes a heart? I mean...don't you think you can still feel? 'Cause I know I can." His hands inched closer to the sitar strings, twitching before coming into contact with them, like he was forcing himself very hard not to pluck them. "I don't think being a Nobody means you're just not there anymore... I think it's all about making yourself a new heart. Finding out how to feel again on your own, and finding what makes you able to do just that."

The low-ranked Nobody let out a sigh, like he'd been holding his breath in all along. Xaldin, on the other hand, was completely taken aback. He never would have expected something like that to come from someone like...Demyx.

"So?" Demyx asked, evidently proud of himself. In more ways than one, he was a lot like a child. "Whatcha think, Xaldin?"

He didn't _know_ what he thought. But whatever that was, he knew one thing for certain; Demyx completely knocked down all his prior beliefs. Or, if not knocked them down...he at least challenged them. What _was _Xaldin supposed to think now, with logic as convincing as that? Demyx frequently claimed the Nobodies had hearts. Maybe--just maybe--he was right. They obviously couldn't be tangible hearts, like the ones they were born with before having them stolen away...but they were still hearts in their own right. The ghosts of their old hearts, or maybe--just maybe--the beginnings of new ones.

If it was truly as Demyx said, then Xaldin was certain he'd found the potential source of his new heart; the being who would trigger its construction. And sacrificing that being to regain it in a quicker way was taking the cheater's way out.

"Question," said Xaldin. "If you truly believe all this, then what on earth are you doing working under Xemnas' orders?"

"Oh, that?" Demyx balled up his fist for a brief moment of thinking, then raised his hand and grinned. "Aw, easy! I just want somewhere to belong."

"Got it." Xaldin turned away from him. "...I hope you find that place someday. I don't think this is it."

His declaration made Demyx frown. "Well...okay...if you think so..." Instantaneously, he perked up. "Hey Xaldin! How about hearing my song now? It's called 'Swim This Way.' I swear, it came to me in a dream..."

Xaldin stopped only to look at Demyx over his shoulder. "No. I already told you; _no_."

Instantly, he paused. "...Would you grant me a favor? I need help distracting someone..."

X X X

He couldn't believe he was doing this. Everything--all the decisions he'd made thus far, and all the events soon to follow--they took place over such a short amount of time. For Xaldin, rapidity was normally a welcome idea...but not when it was something as important as this.

He came upon the Altar of Naught and stood still, knowing very well that the demon guarding the makeshift Kingdom Hearts would be able to sense his arrival. Sure enough, Saix turned around, drawing his eyes away from the heart-shaped moon to lock his yellow eyes onto Xaldin's blue ones.

Saix was a chilling sort of Nobody. They all claimed to be filled with nothingness; to function off of emptiness and exist in uncertainty, wedged uncomfortably in-between light and darkness. But they all mimicked thoughts and feelings they were once capable of having.

Saix, however, did not. He was so cold, so detached, that he was practically robotic. He displayed no emotion whatsoever--not even in imitation or effigy. The closest Xaldin ever saw the man depict when it came to sentience was when he entered into Berserk mode, and that was nothing but savagery. Xaldin always assumed it was because he couldn't remember what feeling...felt like. It must have been so long ago for the Berserker, especially as it was common-known knowledge in The Organization that he was well over a couple hundred years old.

"Three." It was possibly meant to be a greeting, but as always, there was no depth to Saix's tone. "What do you require?"

"I came to tell you about something." Xaldin folded his arms behind his back, as was customary for him to do. "I thought you might want to stop it."

Saix blinked, calm--emotionless--as ever. His silence signified that he was waiting for the details of whatever was to follow.

"Some Nobodies intend to interfere with Kingdom Hearts' construction. They have their ideas all planned out and everything." Part of him was screaming at the other part of him, demanding to know what he thought he was doing. But during the time Kairi allowed him to spend with her...Xaldin was given the opportunity to feel again. To share her heart. Even if it never happened again, he wasn't going to let the other three harm her. He owed her that much.

"They're going to sacrifice the heart of one of the Princesses. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that this is against Xemnas' orders...which makes it treason..."

Saix's eyes flashed dangerously. "Names."

X X X

Xaldin returned to the floor Kairi was on, advancing towards the door. He came to a stop as he heard the familiar voice of the Nobody he would now admire for the rest of eternity accosting the overbearingly tall form of his superior.

"Hey Lex-us!" said Demyx, mispronouncing Lexaeus' name as always. He jumped up and down on alternating legs the way he did whenever he was in trouble. "Can you help me? I locked myself outta my room again and I need you to knock the door down! Again!"

Lexaeus squinted at Demyx, then looked up and over at Xaldin, requesting with his eyes that he take over his position, for the time being, as the one guarding Kairi's door. Xaldin discreetly nodded; Lexaeus stepped away from his post and followed Demyx down the stairs.

Xaldin watched the both of them until they disappeared from sight. Relieved, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Kairi looked up the moment he walked in, a cheerful smile lighting her face. "Is everything okay?" she asked, concerned.

"It's about to be." Xaldin swept across the room and snatched her by the arm, forcing her to rise with him and stand. "You're going home."

Kairi was confused; and she had every right to be. "What? But I thought..."

"What part about 'going home' don't you understand?" Xaldin snapped testily. "We're not going to be sacrificing you. Simple as that. Now quick, before somebody realizes we're leaving..."

"But your heart..." Kairi's eyes fell to the floor before flitting back upward. She was still as selfless as she was to begin with. "What about that? I want you to get it back..."

Xaldin glanced over to the door, then turned back to face her. "I know you do. That's what I found out about you. But you don't have to give yours away in order for me to get mine back... Someone just told me something, and now it makes sense. We're reborn as Nobodies...not to slaughter others for our own sake, but to learn how to rebuild our hearts on our own."

After trying his hardest, he found himself able to smile. It was a small smile, and not filled with as much compassion as he would have liked, but it was the best he could come up with. That part of the whole process...he was still getting accustomed to. "Or maybe it's not reconstruction. Maybe we end up with completely different hearts at the end of all this. I'd like to think we're new people... Maybe it's true."

Once she'd taken in everything Xaldin said, Kairi raised her eyes onto his once again and smiled. His words encouraged her; she truly felt happy for him and his new discovery. "But, just so you know..." She giggled, clasping her hands behind her back. Placing their arms behind their backs was a very similar habit that the both of them had; and it was possible that Kairi had developed hers after watching him do the same, for so many years. "You were never bad to begin with. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Di--"

She was silenced by his index finger sealing itself over her lip. Her eyes crossed to follow his finger, then straightened themselves out as she gazed silently at him. She hoped against hope that she was only imagining her face burning.

"I'd appreciate it if we forget that name, and leave it to be buried with the person whose body it belonged to." Xaldin fixed his attempt at a smile onto his face again. It wasn't the real thing, but Kairi saw it as a smile regardless. "Dilan betrayed a great man. Xaldin won't betray his daughter. Besides...if it hadn't been for your heart, I would never have remembered how to feel again."

Kairi's amethyst eyes rounded, misting over with the traces of what threatened to become tears. Xaldin removed his hand from her lips, only to cradle her face.

Whatever fear Kairi had...wasn't even worth paying attention to anymore. She let her eyes close as she quietly leaned her head against his chest, daring to hug him. The action caught Xaldin off guard, but filled the empty space within him--the space that would one day become a makeshift heart of its own, and was well on its way there because of her--with warmth. Light.

Holding onto each other, they sank down into the shadows.

X X X

"Come..."

Xaldin rushed down a new hallway, his hand tightly clasped around Kairi's. "I can't teleport to another world; just to places in whichever one I'm in at the time. But there's a room in this castle that allows you to switch worlds. That's where we're headed..."

Kairi nodded, running her fastest to keep up with him. "You--" Her speech was broken only by her panting. "--Should come...too...to the islands..."

He quickly flung a door open, only to hesitate before entering. "...I don't know."

Due to the rate at which they came to a stop, Kairi found herself flying face-first into him. Xaldin helped steady her; Kairi placed her hands on either of his arms to regain balance, then looked up at him and smiled. "You would like the islands!" she assured him. "It's so nice there...so peaceful, and happy. I think it's a place for people to start over. And you said you're starting over...right?"

Xaldin nodded. "...Yeah...why not? I guess there's no reason not to--"

"GUYS! GUYS, RUN!"

Both Xaldin and Kairi turned to face the direction in which the screams were coming.

Demyx was running towards them, chasing after Lexaeus--whose tomahawk was out and extended. Xaldin's eyes widened; so, too, did Kairi's, but with horror.

"Dunno how much longer I can distract him...Lex-us!" Demyx thrust his fists forward, dousing Lexaeus in an ample amount of water.

Lexaeus blinked, then growled, shaking his head out to rid his hair of water. Even with Demyx's best hose attack, he rounded his attention on Xaldin and Kairi. Xaldin, noticing this, promptly threw open the door to the Other World room and shoved Kairi inside, summoning two of his six spears to his sides.

"Hold him! Just a little longer!"

"Right, right...uh...oh boy..." Lexaeus charged forward to ram his tomahawk into Xaldin. Demyx chose that moment to smash his sitar over the giant's head. The action caused Demyx's sitar to break, as Lexaeus' head was considerably hard; but it stalled Lexaeus. In his rage, he redirected his onslaught onto Demyx, whose eyes were widening with panic. He knew he couldn't take him. But at the very least, he'd bought Xaldin time. Glancing over Lexaeus' shoulder, he grinned at the first--and last--friend he felt ever made, giving him the thumbs up and nodding vigorously.

Xaldin mouthed a "Thank you" in return, wondering if Demyx ever even saw it. He rushed into the room Kairi would undoubtedly still be in, staring around for any signs of her.

He should have known things wouldn't be that easy. When he found her, she was already held tightly in Zexion's grip.

"Ah, hello..." Zexion greeted without any warmth, managing to sound completely disinterested. "I was just telling her about the way in which Vexen plans to kill her. Or...I should say planned." Eyes narrowing, he tossed the girl down to the floor and gave her a swift kick, approaching Xaldin with fury. "Want to know why I corrected myself? Because Saix somehow got it into his mind that Vexen was a traitor. And now he's dead."

Xaldin could tell Zexion knew that he'd betrayed their plans to the Luna Diviner. Shaking his head incredulously, Zexion slapped himself in the forehead. "We four were assistants to Ansem the Wise...together, we overthrew him, placing his authority into Xehanort's hands. We've always been in everything together... Now why the hell would you go and tell a neophyte like Saix what we were up to?"

Kairi flinched at the names mentioned, even while lying face-down on the floor. Xaldin scowled. "Pity...even Demyx is smarter than you."

"Well. Anyway," Zexion went on, as if he couldn't hear him. "Vexen was good for something after all. Used his last dying strength to alert Lexaeus, who went on to alert me. Now, I suppose I'll just have to kill you myself...which is a shame. I so hate dirtying my hands."

As if things couldn't get worse, Lexaeus emerged into the room shortly after. "Little pest..." His one-handed grip on his tomahawk tightened as he raised the weapon above him. "You will not have to. Take the girl, and I'll kill the traitor in your place."

"You don't get it, do you? You asshole!" Zexion rounded on him. "We can't go through with the sacrifice now. Xemnas is going to _kill_ us! We'll just take these two down with us..."

If there was going to be a fight--and Xaldin now knew that there was--he didn't believe Kairi could defend herself. Xaldin was more than capable of killing a man; even two. But Lexaeus' brute, unrivaled strength, matched with Zexion's manipulation of the shadows, did not make for a good combination in an opponent. Not only that, but Kairi would only get in the way. Rushing, he forced open a portal in the air behind him, motioning towards it with a spear. "Go in! I'll catch up with you!"

Kairi obviously didn't want to leave Xaldin behind on his own; despite her inability to fight, she despised the idea of abandoning someone in trouble... "Xaldin..." She struggled against the tears threatening to form of their own accord. Zexion's arms were bathed in swirling shadows; a poisonous look in his eyes alarmed her. He was dashing straight towards her--

She had no doubt that Xaldin could defend himself long enough to break away from the two. But if she remained in his presence, she would only be a distraction; a hindrance to their battle. She threw herself out of the way of Zexion's attack, skidding along the floor. The physical pain was unimportant at present... She forced herself up and dove into the portal, disappearing from sight.

Xaldin sealed off the entryway to the Destiny Islands, finally at peace. She was gone...she was safe now. He'd returned the favor. She gave him the ability to feel again, when in her company; she made him realize that he didn't need Dilan's heart to become a Somebody again. That he could work on it, on his own...and possibly, she was willing to assist him.

For that, he owed her his soul.

X X X

Kairi couldn't believe the sun was rising. She should have been exhausted; she could feel that she was supposed to. Somehow, her panic over Xaldin's well-being kept her wide awake, and prevented her from rowing back to the mainlands.

Since this was the spot he directed her in, she assumed this was the spot he would arrive in, too. Obediently, Kairi sat down in the sand, her hands in her lap and eyes on the ocean, its surface beginning to shimmer with the light from the rising sun. It instilled calm within her; it lent to her the idea that everything would be okay.

It seemed incredibly strange to Kairi, but true...when she realized that this was the spot she'd waited in, day after day, for Riku and Sora--but now, she sat waiting in that spot for Xaldin. She gave into a calm, peaceful laugh, hoping neither one of them would mind if they ever found out.

Kairi was happy that Xaldin would be coming to the islands. He was a connection to her last life; the days of happiness that drifted on by before all of that was brought to an abrupt end, only to be spiraled into an even better happiness. Yes...life here on the islands, waiting for Riku and Sora, was what she would have chosen at any given moment (only topped by life _with_ Riku and Sora), but still...she'd learned that it was nice to remember your past rather than smother it. And once Xaldin was on the islands, she could talk with him about that past. They could reminisce over the days when her father brought back huge stacks of Sea Salt ice cream and forced all the inhabitants of the castle to try the various flavors they came in... She especially wanted to ask him if he remembered the days when Ansem would choose an assistant, at random, to entertain her in her childish games--hold tea parties and play dolls. With a grin, Kairi resolved to admit to Xaldin that he had been her favorite playmate out of them all.

Hours passed on by as Kairi waited for his arrival; the only way she could tell was from the intense beating of the sun down on the back of her neck, which came across as sudden to her. She hadn't realized so much time passed between her return to the island and...now.

When she _did_ come to the acknowledgment that Xaldin was taking long, she began to panic all over again. Did battles take hours? Kairi knew that battles such as the ones in wars did, but Xaldin only intended to distract his two adversaries long enough to follow her home...

Although afraid to do so, Kairi closed her eyes, her hands seeking refuge upon her heart. Before...she hadn't been able to feel Xaldin's heart. But her own, now, felt connect to his soul--it felt connected to all the souls of those she grew to hold dear to her. It was the only way she kept tabs on Riku and Sora while they were so far away; by feeling if they were okay. Desperately, she begged her heart to reveal to her if Xaldin was alright; if he was free from harm...

She had to search deep within herself to find the answers she sought. It was harder, when the person you'd connected yourself to had no heart to reciprocate the connection. But she finally found it.

Her heart crunched.

Letting out a soft, painful gasp, Kairi's eyes squeezed more tightly shut than before; and she doubled over in the sand, her tears flowing freely.

Even they hurt.

* * *

Thank you for reading! (Oh, how I love my sad endings.) 

Yep. Vexen, Demyx, and Xaldin all died in the same chapter.

I swear I didn't do that to piss off the guy I wrote this for.

Crap, strike-through doesn't work!

Anyway...thanks again, and take care!


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